Mattress



M. C. KAYE Aug. 13, 1963 MATTRESS Filed June 9, 1961 INVENTOR. Mc/me/ 6Kaye.

United States Patent 3,100,305 MATTRESS Michael C. Kaye, Portland, Greg,assignor to Freightliner Corporation, Portland, Greg, a corporation ofDelaware Filed June 9, 1961, Ser. No. 116,195 1 Claim. (Cl. 345) Thisinvention relates generally to mattresses and more particularly tomattresses for use in trucks and other moving vehicles where theoccupant lies with his head and feet on an Iathwartship line.

It is well known that in long distance trucking alternate drivers sleepin a suitable compartment, for example the compartment may be behind thedrivers seat. Since the sleeper ordinarily lies with his head and feeton an athwartship line, he is particularly subject to forces developedby the fore and aft acceleration and deceleration of the truck. Theseforces have a tendency to roll the sleeper and in some instances have atendency to roll the sleeper completely off the ledge.

A mattress is ordinarily placed in this compartment and is secured, asfor example, by attaching it to the back of the truck seat. Theseattaching devices are particularly uncomfortable when the sleeper isrolled onto them as often occurs due to the acceleration anddeceleration forces. In addition, the amount of room available for thesleeper is relatively small and consequently the mattress or pad isusually thin resulting in poor cushioning of the occupant.

It is a general object of the present invention to provide an improvedmattress.

'It is a more particular object \of this invention to provide animproved mattress for use in trucks and the like.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a mattress whichincludes improved comfort in a restricted space.

It is still another object of this invention to provide a mattresshaving the aforementioned characteristics wherein means are provided forcomfortably impeding the fore and aft motion of the occupant caused byacceleration and deceleration of the vehicle itself.

These objects and others are generally accomplished in the presentinvention by employing a mattress having wedge shaped longitudinaledges. A mattress cover cooperates with the wedge shaped longitudinalportions of the mattress, to increase the cushioning.

The aforementioned objects may be clearly understood from the followingdescription taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, inwhich:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a truck cab showing a mattress inaccordance with this invention;

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view of a mattress in accordance with thisinvention without a cover;

FIGURE 3 is a perspective view of a mattress in accordance with thisinvention showing the action of the wedge shaped edges; and

FIGURE 4 is a perspective view of a covered mattress showing thecooperation of the wedged edges and the mattress cover.

Referring particularly to FIGURE 1, a truck cab 11 having a drivers seat13 and a ledge 15 is schematically illustrated. A mattress 17,preferably covered with a cover 18, is disposed the ledge 15.

The shape of the mattress is more clearly shown in FIGURE 2. It includesan elongated slab or body portion 19. Along the upper longitudinal edgesof the slab 19 wedge shaped portions 21 are disposed. The wedge3,100,305 Patented Aug. 13, 1963 shaped portions and the slab 19 may beformed integrally with each other and may be made of any suitableresilient material such as for instance, urethane foam (polyurethanepolyether).

Referring to FIGURE 3, a man 23 is shown reposing. When a weight such asa man is located on the surface the side portions deform to permitdeflection of the center of the mattress. The tips of the wedges aremore flexible than the slab or body alone thus permitting moredeflection in the center than in a similar mattress without thelongitudinal wedges. This can be explained by considering the topsurface of the body or slab as a stretched membrane which is deflectedby the weight. Without the wedged edges the forces maintaining themembrane taut are relatively high. With flexible wedges present theytend to bend or flex to give rather low restraining forces therebyproviding better cushioning.

Referring to FIGURE 4, a mattress having a cover 18 is shown in use. 'Itshould be realized that when a flat resilient form such as a mattressbody is covered by material such as cotton mattress ticking, thedepression caused by a person resting on the mattress is retarded due tothe ticking itself. The ticking is relatively inflexible and tends tomaintain a constant overall periphery about the mattress. Thus, in orderto fit into the depression, a covering about a flat mattress must curlthe sides to equalize a total overall periphery. Since the sides of -aflat mattress resist this curling action, the result is a generalstiffening efiect due to the use of the mattress cover.

However, in the embodiment shown in FIGURE 4 the mattress cover normallylies in relatively close contact with the mattress until a weight, suchas a person is placed on the mattress. The weight of the person causesthe wedges 21 to be deflected and the mattress cover spans from theWeight to the deformed tip of the wedge as at 225.

Thus, it is seen that an improved mattress is provided in whichlongitudinal shoulders are incorporated along the edge to more closelyconform to the body of the occupant thereby providing greater supportand comfort. The wedges also tend to protect the occupant fromprotrusions. The shape of the mattress has special advantages,particularly when considered in conjunction with the mattress cover,wherein deformation of the mattress is not retarded by a curlingtendency.

I claim:

A mattress comprising a relatively flat elongated body portion havingupper and lower spaced surfaces and longitudinal side edges, anelongated wedge-shaped portion extending along the entire length of eachof said side edges, the edge of said wedge extending upwardly with onesurface of the wedge merging with the upper surface of the body todefine therewith a continuous upper surface, and a cover looselycooperating with the upper surface of said mattress and extending overthe edge of said wedge, said cover forming a membrane which is supportedby the continuous upper surface and the edge of the wedge, when saidcover is deflected by an object disposed on the same, the edge of saidwedge cooperates with the cover to provide a restraining force which isless than the force which would exist in the absence of wedgescooperating with the cover.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTSMcMonagle Mar. 3, 1953

